10 DCEU Teases That Went Nowhere

The past decade of DC films have been nothing short of a fascinating case study. Beginning with 2013’s Man of Steel and stretching through the forthcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the landscape of quasi-connected movies has become known as the DC Extended Universe. While the saga has helped introduce a number of viewers to some of DC’s iconic characters, it has been filled with some frustrating or baffling moments.

With a new era on the horizon under DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, which is expected to “reset” a lot of the franchise’s continuity, there are still a number of DCEU storylines that have yet to be resolved. From Man of Steel all the way through to this year’s The Flash, here are ten of the franchise’s teases that haven’t come to fruition. 

Carol Ferris

Man of Steel introduced audiences to Carrie Farris (Christina Wren), an Air Force officer who becomes the right-hand woman to Clavin Swanwick (Henry Lennix). Eagle-eyed fans immediately caught Carrie’s name as a play on comic character Carol Ferris. In DC lore, Carol is a businesswoman tied to the Ferris Aircraft corporation, on-again-off-again love interest of Hal Jordan / Green Lantern, and accidental antihero in Star Sapphire.

Despite appearing in or being referenced in three DCEU projects, Farris never even remotely got close to her kinda-sorta comic namesake — in part because the franchise only sparingly got to touch on the lore of the Green Lantern Corps to begin with.

Robin’s Fate

To this day, no DCEU plot point is debated quite like the fate of Bruce Wayne / Batman’s (Ben Affleck) Robin, which is alluded to in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Other than the “Jokerized” costume behind a glass case, and a detail on Harley Quinn’s rap sheet in Suicide Squad, we’ve gotten no indication of how Robin died at the hands of Harley and Joker — even though we were originally supposed to in a deleted scene.

Which Robin was killed by the duo? Was it Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, or someone else entirely? How exactly did that Robin die anyway? All these years later, we don’t have a definitive answer, with Snyder himself giving different answers at certain times. 

The Entire Knightmare Timeline

Beginning with Batman v. Superman, Snyder introduced audiences to a dark possible future for his fledgling Justice League. Nicknamed the Knightmare timeline, this world would see Clark Kent / Superman (Henry Cavill) corrupted by Darkseid, who decides to remake the world in his image. While the Snyder Cut of Justice League briefly showcased Batman leading a resistance in that timeline, it was revealed to be little more than just a dream sequence — but one that could, down the line, become true.

Of course, we now know that the Knightmare timeline would’ve been further explored in Snyder’s subsequent Justice League sequels, as he has since shared outlines and even concept art of what that would’ve entailed.

Injustice League

Another major tease from both cuts of Justice League could be found towards the very end, as Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) arranges a meeting with Slade Wilson / Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello) to take down the newly-formed alliance of heroes. No matter which version of the film you regard to be canon, the tease of their alliance — and of Deathstroke targeting Batman — did not come to fruition. It might’ve in Affleck’s The Batman movie, or even in a solo Deathstroke movie, but alas.

Mister Mind

Perhaps one of the most frustrating DCEU teases, the post-credits scene of 2019’s Shazam! provided the first live-action appearance of Mister Mind, the pint-sized ultra-intelligent insect who wants to team up with Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) to fight the Shazam! family.

After the powers that be elected to not make Mister Mind the villain of this year’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods sequel, that film then contained a post-credits scene poking fun at the long wait for his and Sivana’s team-up. And now, with uncertainty over whether or not the Shazam! lore will carry over into the new DCU, there’s no telling if we’ll ever get to see that storyline.

The Flash of Two Worlds

While this technically didn’t occur within a DCEU property, The Flash’s cameo in The CW’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover is a head-scratcher in and of itself. The moment, which showed Miller’s Barry finally crossing paths with Grant Gustin’s long-running TV Barry, was undoubtedly epic and essentially broke the Internet when it occurred. But the very brief scene also seemed to have repercussions on Miller’s Barry — not only because he met a doppelganger of himself for the very first time, but because Gustin’s Barry seemingly gave him his superhero name and taught him a small smidge of how the multiverse works.

Despite The Flash writer Christina Hodson indicating at the time that she’d accounted the “Crisis” cameo in her script, the end result had absolutely no acknowledgment of this scene, much less any sort of cameo from Gustin himself.

The Birds of Prey

Also in early 2020, DCEU audiences were introduced to one of DC’s most formidable ensembles — the Birds of Prey. After a madcap adventure alongside Harley Quinn and Cassandra Cain in Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), the film ended with the titular group formed in earnest. Dinah Lance / Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett), Helena Bertinelli / Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) all agreed to partner up in Gotham and fight crime together, and each sported new costumes in a very brief fight scene.

We have yet to see the Birds of Prey — or even acknowledge Dinah, Helena, or Renee’s existence — ever since. Granted, there were attempts to do so, with the now-canceled Batgirl solo film seemingly containing references to Dinah, and a Black Canary Max-exclusive solo movie briefly in development as well, before Warner Bros. pivoted away from movies on streaming. There’s a chance that the Birds could take flight again in the new DCU, but we have no indication if they’ll be the same iterations.

Asteria

That same year, the post-credits scene of Wonder Woman 1984 paid a unique tribute to Wonder Woman’s legacy, revealing that Lynda Carter had been cast as Asteria. Borrowing the name from Greek mythology and from an obscure DC heroine, Asteria was reimagined as a previously-forgotten Amazonian warrior who had made a home amongst Man’s World.

Over years of developments regarding Wonder Woman 3, it seemed as if Carter would be reprising her role as Asteria in that film — but we now know that isn’t currently the case.

Black Adam vs. Superman

After years of speculation, the Man of Steel did, in fact, play a role in 2022’s Black Adam movie. That film’s post-credits scene saw Cavill finally make his return as Clark Kent / Superman, emerging from the shadows to deliver a stern warning to Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson).

While the cast and crew of Black Adam hinted at plans to have the two fight onscreen, the reality proved to be something else entirely, with Gunn and Safran’s new jobs announced just days after the film’s release. Soon after, both Cavill and Johnson confirmed that they would not be appearing in the new DCU anytime soon.

Clooney

And finally, this summer’s The Flash ended a lot of the DCEU lore on a bizarre and fascinating note. After the multiverse-traversing shenanigans of the film, Barry returned back to his main reality to discover that things still weren’t what they seemed. Instead of Affleck or Michael Keaton’s takes on Batman, the Bruce Wayne in Barry’s life was now George Clooney’s from the infamous 1997 film Batman & Robin.

The scene immediately started a shockwave of speculation about the intersection between the DCEU and the DCU, with some wondering if Clooney would be returning as Batman full-time going froward. Gunn quickly took to social media to confirm that that isn’t the case, and after The Flash drastically underperformed at the box office, there’s no telling if and how that will be followed up on.

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What unresolved DCEU plot line are you the saddest about? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!